LOST COINS: The day that shifted us into action

It started with ONE; a single, dirty, unkempt solitary boy left in the corner.

The unwritten sign above his life was blaring and underscored ‘UNWANTED’.

Noone dared read it or utter a word of its plain reality.

Alone and abandoned in the backend of a juvenile prison for no other crime than existing. His undersized frame matched his feeble substance. Unable to speak coherent words or communicate who he was or where he came from. Abandoned in the market, found by police, and abandoned again.

Breathing?......Yes.

Living?......No!

Labelled a vegetable and jailed because there was nowhere else to take him. Discarded, nameless, lost.

We had been working with street kids for several years but this boy was the FiRST lost coin that shifted me into focus.

The ONE whose very existence somehow kick-started me out of my comfort zone to dare to believe that there is something more and I have a part to step into.

This ONE coin reshaped my entire journey. A catalyst to change it all. Read 'Letter to Dong' for more of his story.

In truth I AM actually the FIRST lost coin!

I was lost in my own plans and purposes. Most of them tainted with self ambition, misplaced and adrift, scripting my story yet so far off the target.

I was the ONE seen in that jail years ago. I went there with a team to help others but I was found in an unexpected moment. A seemingly insignificant penny in infinity’s economy; but somehow part of a design beyond my small mindedness.

Fast forward to 2023 to Lifenet Children's Foundation Inc.; a ministry starting its 16th year with a restoration home for kids and outreach programs to families.

It is really hard to lead and the work is full of numerous obstacles and disappointments but it is still standing amidst a world of increasing chaos and dysfunction. I look at the buildings, our staff, kids shooting basketballs and laughing as chickens chase each other through the middle of their game and I can't help but swallow the lump in my throat.

Dong should have been here too!

WHO ARE LOST COINS?

They are everywhere; in our pockets, down the back of the sofa. We don"t look for them. Unseen people we walk by everyday. Treasures on the sidewalk.

I identify with the woman in the parable who lost one coin; she fervently searched and considered how to find it, unsatisfied with the nine she had in her other hand. All 10 are valuable. This is the heart of God.

Luke 15:8-10

Dong boy was a coin that was sadly lost along the way. He passed away in a hospital without a home or a family. But his unseen value is a legacy that lives on in the lives of other children who have the chance that he didn't. This will continue to be his legacy!

May the search for more coins continue!

Lifenet Children's Foundation Inc. is a registered and licenced social welfare agency operating 'House of Joshua'  a children's restoration centre and outreach programs to families.

For more information see our website or visit our facebook page.

Thank you for reading, liking, and sharing. It is a small way to help us reach more kids!